7 Times Sean Spicer's Defense Of Trump Failed Spectacularly

On Friday, White House Press Secretary Spicer resigned from his post after six months on the job. Spicer said that it was an "honor" and a "privilege" to serve under President Trump, and Trump praised Spicer for "his great television ratings." However, Spicer's tenure was a rocky one, and on more than one occasion, Spicer's defenses of Trump failed spectacularly.

Spicer's time on the job was marked with controversy and derision, and he became a regular source of parody on Saturday Night Live, where he is played by Melissa McCarthy. On many occasions, his attempts to defend the president backfired significantly. Here are a couple of them.

"This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period," Spicer said. Undercutting his own argument, Spicer said in the same press conference that "no one had numbers" regarding the exact number of people who attended Trump's inauguration.

The Navy Secretary

In February, CBS News reported that Trump's pick to serve as Secretary of the Navy, Philip Bilden, was "on the verge" of withdrawing his nomination. In a tweet, Spicer said that CBS's sources "would be wrong," and that Bilden "is 100% commited [sic] to being the next SECNAV pending Senate confirm."

"The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant," Spicer said in an off-camera press briefing. In audio of the briefing, the reporters in attendance could be heard laughing at Spicer's claim.

Is It A Travel Ban?

After Trump restricted citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S., Spicer pushed back against the claim that the policy was a "travel ban."

Months later, Trump himself contradicted Spicer, referring to the policy as a "travel ban" in multiple tweets. In one instance, the president said that "the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!"

"Very Limited Role"

Daily Kos on YouTube

As the controversy surrounding Trump's Russia connections began heating up, many started scrutinizing the role of Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign manager who has reportedly worked for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine.

In an attempt to defuse the situation, Spicer said that Manafort "played a very limited role [in the campaign] for a very limited time."

But Manafort served as Trump's campaign manager, perhaps the highest-ranking positions in a campaign, for three crucial months. He was the head of Trump's delegate gathering operation before the primary was over, and was campaign manager when Trump accepted the Republican nomination in July.